1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a binding for releasably securing the booted foot of a user to a snowshoe.
2. Description of Related Art
Archeologists have determined that the snowshoe has existed for several thousand years. The primary use of earlier snowshoes was utilitarian in nature for hunting, trapping, forestry and the like.
Over the past several years, snowshoeing has become a family recreational activity. Recreational users have a need: a) to adapt the snowshoes to a wide variety of footwear styles and sizes; b) to mount and dismount snowshoes frequently and easily; and 3) to gain better control of the snowshoe.
The design challenge has been to provide a versatile binding which has good control characteristics, has a wide boot style/size range, is lightweight and has ease of entry/exit, all at a low cost.
Existing bindings are of the harness type or molded type, each of which is deficient in one or more of the following respects:
harness bindings are cumbersome to mount, offer minimal control, have multiple tightening points, have components which stretch and loosen with use and require straps to be threaded through buckles each use, which is awkward; and
molded bindings have limited fit range, have multiple tightening points, require straps to be threaded through buckles, which is awkward, have multiple exit releases, and are costly.
The binding of the invention incorporates the versatility and fit range characteristics of a harness design, as well as the control advantages of a molded binding system. The binding body is molded from an elastomeric synthetic material, which easily conforms to the contour of a wide range of boot configurations. When the binding is tightened, using a natural ergonomic motion, the boot becomes securely locked in place. The design objectives of control, ease of entry/exit, lightweight and low cost are all met.
The unique feature of the design is a floating dual buckle means, which xe2x80x9cfloatsxe2x80x9d on a pair of synthetic straps, and is positioned in an area over the instep of the foot. The dual buckle means has two ladder cinch buckles, which operate in opposite directions of up to 180xc2x0. The straps are permanently installed in the buckles, and are secured against removal from the buckles by the placement of snap hardware on the straps.
The binding is easily opened by placing the fingers under tabs on each of the buckles, and lifting upwardly. The boot is then placed in the binding, with the ball of the foot lined up with alignment means on the binding. The user pulls upwardly on the two straps to tighten the fit, and then pulls downwardly to lock the binding. A heel strap is then pulled snug, and held by a cam buckle. Exit is achieved by placing the fingers under the tabs and lifting upwardly in motions which are very similar to the tying of shoes.
The improvement lies in the design of the floating buckle system, which may be constructed of currently available commercially purchased components, or which may be molded as a single component. No other known system uses opposing buckles, which are not anchored to any supporting component.